Czech producers of medical devices to up prices

2010-08-20

The Czech producers of medical devices may raise their prices as a reaction to the growing prices of raw materials such as pulp, superabsorber and cotton fibre, according to the Czech Association of Medical Device Suppliers CzechMed. The association said the price hikes are the highest in the past decade.
For some companies the price rises concern up to 70% of the raw materials used in production. There are many reasons for the higher prices. According to the association, the huge expansion of the Chinese economy (around 10.5% GDP growth is expected this year) is one of the key factors; in some instances China is buying out worldwide stocks of raw materials in order to support the Chinese currency. Secondly, the currently disadvantageous exchange rate between euro and the US dollar also has an important role as the production facilities and key markets of some manufacturers are located in Europe while raw materials are sourced from US-dollar-based countries.
CzechMed was founded in 1998 and with 27 members represents the interests of about 30% of the Czech market of medical devices.